Ali Hussein, chief executive officer (CEO) at Kenyan interactive agency 3mice, has called on Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto to urgently address issues within the country’s ICT sector if Kenya is to become a “digital country”.
In an open letter on his blog, Hussein urged the new president and vice president to take action in several areas to boost the technological revolution in the country.
“Without a strong educational infrastructure and a culture of learning all the above will be for nought,” he said, calling upon the government to support the rollout of high speed internet in universities by the Kenya Education Network (KENET).
“It is a shame for example that schools in informal settlements do not have either computers or internet access in Nairobi. I shudder to think what happens when we move beyond Nairobi.
He commended the “one child, one laptop” policy Kenyatta says his government will introduce, but said “it must be followed by real efforts to encourage and incubate local content otherwise we will lose control of what our children read.”
Hussein also called on the new government to address issues with ICT infrastructure in Kenya, saying a lot still needed to be done even though the country had made great strides.
He called for more action on the Universal Access Fund, and said Kenyatta and Ruto should assist in forming the new Independent Communications Commission of Kenya (ICCK) which will replace the current Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK).
“This is in line with the new constitution and will go a long way in adding much needed gravitas in the regulation of this important sector,” he said. He also urged the enhancement of the Ministry of Information by ensuring technocrats were in charge.
These technocrats, he said, must “have a track record and able to navigate and steer the country to truly be the Silicon Savannah of Africa.”
HumanIPO reported on the Jubilee Coalition’s election promises with regard to technology prior to voting day.
